Thyroid treatment-iodine supplements

[canadusa]

  In April of last year, I went to see an Endocronologist because I thought I had hypothyroidism. After doing blood
  work, I was told  my levels were within normal range but because I had symptoms, it might be subliminal
  hypothyroidism. My TPO levels at that time were around 600.

  I went to see another doctor for a second opinion. He did some testing as well. As a result he said I was iodine
  deficient. He also told me I had Hashimotos and ask me why the other doctor had not treated me. He prescribed
  Iodoral (Iodine supplements) 3x daily. I took the supplements from the end of June to the middle of October.
  In Mid October I ended up in the Emergency room with levels of  27.24THS (Normal 0.35- 5.50) and 4628 Anti TPO(Normal 0-60)

    I have been told by several doctors that the reason my levels were so hihg was because of the iodine.  A patient
   with Hashimotos should be on iodine supplements because iodine build up in your Thyroid gland and destroys the
   tissue.

   After doing a little research on Iodine, I found out that chronic toxicity can develop when intake is more than 1.1 daily.  My dose was 15 mg. For my weight (50kg), it should have been 5mg per day.

I initially experience dizziness, hypoglicemic symptoms , anxiety and all the classic hypothyroisisn symptoms. Around January I became allergic to everything (Milk,wheat,soy,eggs,yeast, corn) and recently have developed hearing problems a swell. I was put on very low doses of synthroid and have not been able to tolerate it because of the
fillers.

I have had every test you can imagine cardi, neuro, endo, gastro. OBGYN, cat scans.  The latest test was a hearing test done by a specialist to rule out menieres. His conclusion is that it is Thyroid because the hearing loss is coming
from the central nervous system.

My  THS levels are now with norml range but my Anti TPO are still high 3,400. and have an anlarged Thyroid gland

I have several questions

1) Does this sound like a Thyroid issue issue  because of the iodine supllements?
2) Is this grounds for a malpractice suit. Sorry to ask, I know you are a doctor and don't want to
    get my endocronologist involved at this point.
3) Is this a permanent condition?

Forgot to mention cannot do an MRI because I have a pacemaker

I have been through so much in the last few months because of this. I have been unable to work and has completely
destroyed my life. I have now started on Armor Thyroid-specially made without any fillers

Thank you in advance for your help

Danielle.




  

  
  

[ellesan]

Danielle,

I am so sorry you are also going through this. Unfortunately I have a very similar experience as yours. I was given iodine BEFORE I was tested for Hashimoto's due to a very mild hypothyroid. He even said it might be Hashi's but didn't test me for it. My TSH was 3.9 and my only complaint was fatigue. I had NO other symptoms. I was given Lugol's iodine, 2 drops/day and Armour thyroid. I asked about side effects and safety, etc and was told it was perfectly safe and it would make me feel better. HA.

I have been in He// ever since. After 5 days of taking the iodine I started getting a compressive goiter. I started researching iodine and Hashi's and found that it could trigger an autoimmune attack, which is what it proceeded to do to me. It has been horrific and my life will never be the same. I was exercising 5 days a week, totally healthy and strong. I had just gotten certified as a personal trainer and I couldn't even get out of bed. I went in to see him and yelled at him for not informing me of the side effects and not testing me for Hashi's. He drew labs and my antibodies were very high. I then went for an ultrasound, which confirmed enlarged thyroid consistent with Hashimoto's.

I am scheduled for a thyroidectomy in two weeks because I still have a compressive goiter. On top of that, it also triggered another autoimmune disease and I am being tested for a bunch of other ****, including MS. I now have a two page list of symptoms that I NEVER had before I was given the iodine. It has effected every part of my life.

I am persuing a lawsuit, you should check into it as well. We should have NEVER been given iodine.

How are you doing now?

Sandra

[FTB4]

If you want to do a post to an MD, you should click on the Doctors option at the top of the page. The members here are thyroid sufferers that have thyroid problems as your self, we try to help others by responding to posts with questions that we have experienced and are familiar with. As far as Iodine, I have Hashimoto's and asked my Endocrinologist about taking Iodine supplements and he advised me not to, he did not explain why. As far as Hashimoto's Disease there is no cure, it is an auto immune disease that causes your T-Cells (Immune system) to not recognize your thyroid and tries to destroy it, this renders it unproductive and that is the reason they prescribe hormone drugs to keep your levels in range, it takes a while to get to that point due to blood work being done every 6 weeks Prior to dosage adjustments. It might be possible that your thyroid was damaged by the Iodine you took, but wether it caused Hashimoto's or not I could not say since I am not a Doctor, You should discuss this with your Endo.
Good Luck  FTB4